Angola

Tropical Cyclone Belna causes flooding in Madagascar, while heavy rain and flooding persist in East Africa

1. Continued above-average rainfall has triggered flooding across eastern Africa. Heavy rain is forecast to continue next week maintaining high flood risk.

2. Locust swarms continue to affect parts of Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, and Yemen. The chance of a lotus outbreak has increased in north and eastern areas.

Cahama - At least 2,400 tonnes of assorted foodstuffs arrived last Tuesday afternoon at Cahama Municipality, southern Cunene Province, to support more than 800,000 drought victims.

It is the second batch of food aid sent under the Head of State’s initiative, to respond to the effects of the drought that has ravaged the southern part of the country since October 2018.

In the first batch there were 300 tonnes of miscellaneous goods.

Among the food aid it is included cornmeal, oil, rice, salt, milk, biscuits, juice and canned food.

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 63 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover key new and ongoing events, including:

Measles in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ebola virus disease in Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lassa fever in Liberia Humanitarian crisis in Burkina Faso.

(Ondjiva, 8 December 2019): The United Nations Resident Coordinator for Angola, Paolo Balladelli, today called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to scale-up their support for people living on the frontlines of the climate crisis in southern Angola. “Southern Angola is experiencing the devastating consequences of climate change. Temperatures in 2019 were the highest in 45 years and drought is driving increasing hunger and malnutrition, especially in Cunene, Huíla, Bié and Namibe provinces,” said Mr. Balladelli, during a mission to Cunene Province.

Luanda - At least 2,400 tons of miscellaneous food products went this Saturday to Curoca municipality, Cunene province, to help the drought-stricken populations of that southern region.

The Civil Protection and Fire Service spokesman, Faustino Sebastião, indicated that the basic basket food consists of cornmeal, oil, rice, salt, milk, crackers, juices and canned food.

HIGHLIGHTS

Southern Africa is warming at about twice the global rate and has been buffeted by multiple and compounding shocks.

Some 12 million people in nine countries across the region are experiencing severe food insecurity.
Consecutive shocks have exhausted families’ resilience and decimated their livelihoods.

Families are adopting extreme coping mechanisms, including child labour, child trafficking, early marriage and transactional sex.

KEY MESSAGES

Flooding persists in parts of Uganda and Kenya, while South Africa remains dry

Protracted and new disasters have impacted a staggering number of people in Eastern and Southern Africa, and in 2020, will require substantial effort in terms of emergency preparedness and response strategies, mechanisms, tools and partnerships. More than 35 million people in the region, including nearly 18 million children, are in need of humanitarian assistance due to climate-related shocks, health emergencies, conflict, poverty and displacement.

Project code: OSRO/SFS/801/USA

Objective: To safeguard livelihoods, food security and nutrition of vulnerable communities and households affected by the drought and other hazards in southern Africa.

Key partners: Ministries of agriculture, Southern African Development Community (SADC), Famine Early Warning Systems Network, World Food Programme, United Nations Children's Fund and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

In southern Angola, an estimated 2.3 million people continue to face food insecurity and are in need of humanitarian assistance due to the worsening and prolonged drought conditions. The rains have failed for the last eight months, with less than 50 millimetres of rain recorded during this period. More than 421,000 people are food insecure in the 23 communes surveyed. This number is projected to increase to nearly 562,000 by February 2020, with 50 per cent of communes classified as experiencing crisis levels of food insecurity.

Introduction

I. Introduction

The rain started around 2:48pm, in different areas of Ondjiva, capital of Cunene.

So far, it is incalculable the quantity of water that dropped down on Cunene, a province whose agricultural production for this year was completely compromised.

ANGOP got informed that the few hours rain has partially destroyed seven houses, flooded completely some roads and commercial stores, besides causing the fall of ten trees.

Flooding continues in parts of East and West Africa while Southern Africa and Lesotho remain dry

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Elevated river levels in the Congo River Basin have caused flooding along the Congo and DRC border.

2. Several weeks of heavy rainfall have raised river levels in central and western Uganda, triggering floods.

3. Above-average rainfall over the past couple of months has raised water levels in the Nile River and its tributaries, causing floods in Sudan and South Sudan.

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 62 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover key new and ongoing events, including:

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 61 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover key new and ongoing events, including:

Heavy rain prompts river flooding in parts of Africa, while South Africa and Lesotho remain dry

Africa Weather Hazards

1. Elevated river levels in the Congo River Basin have caused flooding along the border of Congo and DRC.

2. Several weeks of heavy rainfall have raised river levels in central and western Uganda, triggering floods.

3. Above-average rainfall over the past couple of months has raised water levels in the Nile River and its tributaries, causing floods in Sudan and South Sudan.

Highlights

• Until early November, the current rainfall season has been characterized by much drier than average conditions, leading to delays in the onset of the agricultural season. From mid November, rainfall has improved significantly and these improved conditions should last until the end of the month; this will lead to suitable conditions for planting and early crop development, but drier conditions are likely to return from early December.

This Weekly Bulletin focuses on public health emergencies occurring in the WHO African Region. The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 64 events in the region. This week’s main articles cover key new and ongoing events, including:

Highlights

• Pasture and water for livestock are in a poor state in some areas due to recurrent droughts

• Seasonal forecasts indicate enhanced chances of below average seasonal rainfall totals, raising concerns on the backdrop of the severe drought of the 2018/19 season.

• Most parts of the region received near-normal rainfall through early November

• Short term forecasts suggest an improvement of rainfall through-mid November in several countries, which may result in a timely onset in some areas.